Re: Weird Food - Care to share?
Dar --- I learned the hard way that there is fish sauce you cook with, and refined, higher priced fish sauce that's used straight. Big difference!!! The first time I made nuoc mam cham, the dipping sauce for cha gio (Vietnamese spring rolls) I used a cheap cooking nuoc mam. Everybody got grossed out. This is, after all, a fermented fish sauce. Make a mistake and gross out factor is huge!
Told the Vietnamese I worked with in Charlotte, NC (big Vietnamese community) and they laughed at me. They all said you need to use Nuoc Mam Nhi. After the fermentation process is completed, approx 9 months, the first draining is the good stuff. Lighter in color and clear - relatively expensive and reserved for table use. Hence the Nhi qualifier. The second and third draining is cheaper and used for cooking. My favorite dishes today still are Banh Xeo and Bun Tom Thit Heo Nuong Cha Gio. That is, noisy pancake and rice noodles with grilled shrimp and pork and spring roll. Both are eaten with the fish sauce nuoc mam cham.
Here in Port St Lucie there is one Vietnamese restaurant - owned by Phillipinos. Food is good. No one speaks Vietnamese - not as much fun.
Dan
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